dj kali setlist 2008.10.20

ait! :: donna
clock dva :: axiomatic and heuristic
the danse society :: continent
sleep chamber :: a synthetic woman
d.a.f. :: sato sato
annie anxiety :: turkey girl
haus arafna :: mirror me
synapscape :: hormona
skinny puppy :: love in vein
lassigue bendthaus :: velocity life
sleep museum :: porcelain
herz juhning :: i deserve
wall of voodoo :: they don't want me
the cure :: strange days
the cramps :: the crusher [request]
killing joke :: exit
chrome :: heartbeat
wire :: i should have known better [request]
staccato du mal :: su ultimo secreto
die gesunden :: die gesunden kommen
die form :: analogic
perverse teens :: la divine
position parallele :: fortune
dark day :: arp's carpet
liaisons dangeureuses :: la mystere dans la brouillard
danielle dax :: bed caves
geins't nait :: trailles
test department :: compulsion
subliminal :: so young with me
asche :: kiss the whip
novy svet :: camilla
colin newman :: alone
human league :: the path of least resistance
severed heads :: guests

for the love of gourd

i'm a big fan of halloween (surprised?). there's something about the absurd blending of happiness and horror that appeals to me. when i was younger, i got more worked up about costumes and traipsing around as dusk crumbled into evening than i did about christmas, with its promise of gifts and food. (actually, i still do.)

it helps that it takes place in the autumn, which is already my favourite season.

it also helps that for one tiny sliver of time, the attention of the world is suddenly focused on the lowly pumpkin, normally an also-ran of the gourd sweepstakes.

of course, pumpkins sold at this time of year are generally used only for decoration (and what decoration). what gets neglected is that the pumpkin is actually flavourful and makes a tasty addition to a variety of recipes- NOT JUST PIE.

i understand that difficulties in preparing pumpkin dishes. given their size, storing, chopping up and cooking a pumpkin is a serious endeavour, to say nothing of a messy one. however, if, like me, you lack space and time, this also happens to be the only time of the year when unsweetened, canned pumpkin is readily available. the pie filling stuff is pretty easy to find at any time, but convenient cans of pre-mashed, low-mess pumpkin are trickier to locate.

but, in keeping with the pumpkin-mania of the season, the cans appear like goblins coming up to halloween.

flavour-wise, the pumpkin is somewhat milder and less sweet than other orange gourds (like acorn squash, probably its closest comparison). this makes it very adaptable to a variety of recipes. here's one i made up...

ingredients

2 cups vegetable broth
3-4 good sized shallots, finely chopped
1 can of pure, unsweetened pumpkin
margarine/ cooking oil
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 cup orange juice
spices (portion as you like- i don't dictate this stuff):
garlic
ginger (lots)
dried mustard
mace
allspice
nutmeg
ground cloves
cayenne
cinnamon
brown sugar (preferably demerara)

heat the oil, margarine or butter in a stock pot and fry the shallots until they become soft. add the spices (except the sugar) and continue stirring to make sure they are mixed. when the shallots are very soft, add the sherry and continue to heat for a few minutes. add the pumpkin and fold in the shallot/ spice mixture until well blended. add the brown sugar, orange juice and broth and allow to heat through, uncovered (stir frequently) until the soup starts to bubble.

note: if finding little bits of shallot in your soup is going to make you crazy, puree the soup in a blender once it's cooled.

may the great pumpkin bless your dinner table!

the way of all things

ah, the joys of living in a city where you have some history. yesterday, i took a stroll past the location of the worst job i've ever had. there are a couple of contenders for this distinction, but this one takes the prize. the best i can say about it was that it gave me a stable income for the time i was there and it was reasonably conveniently located.

in fact, i quite liked the physical location. the building had a certain industrial quality that appealed to me and i dreamed that some day, i'd be able to return, a successful, wealthy and vengeful person, and purchase the building to liberate it from its sad life as a shell for unsuccessful corporate schemes. and i'd use some of my buckets of money to install a lavatory in the exact position of my hideous former boss's desk.

however, when i walked by yesterday, it seems that someone has given the building a new lease on life before i had the opportunity. it's been turned into condos. i'm staggered at the sheer number of condominiums that have been newly built or reclaimed from fallow industrial space in this city. they're going to be converting their fire stations next.

it's not like i'm in a position to buy large buildings at the moment anyway, but for some reason, it's hard to let go of the fantasy. oh well. perhaps some day soon, when the recession hits full force and these hastily converted condos are going for about the same price as a large poutine, i'll look at buying one of the places in the building and redoing the plumbing.